Ponderosa Snowman
by Ponderosa Dreamer
Summary: Joe recounts the tale of one Christmas when he was young.


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Ponderosa Snowman

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A Bonanza Christmas Fantasy

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"PawPaw, tell us more about Christmas when you were little!" The four children crowded around their great-grandfather, the two smallest snuggling into his lap.

He smiled down at them. "Well, in the first place, we didn't have any electric lights for the tree. We used candles. They were pretty, but we had to be so careful."

Over in the corner, his son was unscrewing and replacing one bulb after another, trying to figure out which one was keeping the lights from working. "Yeah, Pa. But at least they usually worked! These dang, new-fangled lights..."

"Come on, Dad." The younger man next to him tried to calm him. "These are the latest thing. You want me to check the rest of 'em?" He reached for another bulb.

"Keep your hands out! I already checked those!" His father shooed him away from the tree, and the son joined his children.

"You didn't have cars then, either, right Grandpa?" It had actually been only a few years since they had gotten the first car on the Ponderosa, but the children probably didn't remember.

"We sure didn't. We hauled the tree back to the house on a sled pulled by a horse. Then we'd set it up and make a party out of decorating it." Those were some of his best memories of Christmas. "Of course, we had to make sure my big brother Hoss didn't eat all the popcorn, or we'd have none for the tree!"

"What else did you put on the tree, PawPaw?" Five-year-old Sally Cartwright kept a close eye on her older brother and sister sitting on the floor stringing the popcorn.

"We had carved animals, gingerbread men, all sorts of things. When I was older, about your daddy's age, we had some store-bought ornaments my Pa got in San Francisco. I think your grandpa still has some of them." He looked over at his son.

The childrens' grandfather grinned over from the side of the pine tree. "Don't worry. We'll get those up as soon as I figure out these blasted lights."

"Did you have snow on Christmas?" Four-year-old Eric wanted to know.

"Oh yes, we had snow. In fact, I remember one year when I was about ten or so, I built a snowman out of Christmas snow..."

v v v

Joe stood back and admired his work. This had to be the best snowman he'd ever built! He looked around and grabbed the old hat he'd found behind the barn. He wasn't sure where it had come from, but no one had claimed it, and it was so beat-up and battered, he didn't figure anyone would want it. He carefully climbed the lowest rail of the corral so he could reach, and placed the hat on the snowman's head. When he descended and took a few steps away, he stopped and rubbed his eyes. It looked like the snowman had blinked!

"Hello there!"

Joe looked around to see who had spoken. There was no one there! He turned to stare back at the snowman. Naw...couldn't be...

"Hello. My name's Jack Snow. What's yours?"

Joe gulped. He could have sworn that the snowman's mouth moved! "Uh, J-Joe Cartwright." Okay, he was talking to a snowman.

"Hi, Joe. Thanks for the hat." The snowman blinked and unfolded arms from his sides. Joe hadn't built arms!

"Uh, I'll be right back!" Joe flew into the barn. "Hoss! Hoss! You gotta come and see this!"

"Whoa, hold on, Shortshanks!" Hoss caught his little brother as he charged. "What's got you all in an uproar?"

Joe grabbed his brother's hand, trying to drag him into the yard. "You gotta see this snowman, Hoss!"

Hoss followed the excited boy out of the barn. "Yep, that's a good one little brother. Where'd you get that ol' hat?"

Joe stared in disbelief. There stood a perfectly ordinary snowman! "I found it. But Hoss, he was talking to me!"

"Who was?"

"Jack Snow! The snowman!" Joe tried to explain.

Hoss grinned. Little Joe could sure spin some yarns! "Yeah, sure, little brother. I guess he told ya his name was Jack Snow, huh?"

"Yeah, and he asked me what my name was. He thanked me for the hat, and grew arms, and...and..." Joe could see that Hoss wasn't about to believe him. "Honest, Hoss. He really talked to me!"

"Okay, if you say so. But you know how Pa's gonna feel about you telling them tall tales!" Hoss chucked and shook his head as he returned to his work. Talking snowmen! Next thing, the kid would be trying to tell everyone that he saw Santa Claus!

Joe stared at the ground in defeat as his brother left. How come the snowman only talked for _him? _He heard a rustling sound and looked up.

Jack was stretching, moving around on legs that Joe hadn't built either. "Whew, sure feels good to move around a bit. Who was that?" He pointed toward the barn.

"My big brother, Hoss. How come when he came out, you just looked like a regular snowman?" Joe was starting to think that there was something very strange about all this.

Jack shrugged. "Beats me. I haven't quite figured out how this all works, myself. This is Christmas Eve, isn't it?"

Joe nodded. "Yeah. Hey, maybe Adam can figure it out. He's been to college, and he knows everything!" He started toward the house, then stopped. "Wait right here, okay? I mean, don't go anywhere!" This sounded like an odd instruction to give to a snowman, but this was a very odd snowman!

He barrelled in the front door. "Adam! Hey, Adam!"

Adam looked up from the desk, irritated at having his concentration broken. "What?"

Joe fidgeted next to the chair. "You gotta see this snowman, Adam. There's something really weird about him!"

"I'll see it later, Joe. I need to get these figures together before supper," Adam sighed.

"C'mon, Adam. You gotta come now. This ain't just a regular snowman."

Adam shook his head and rose from the desk. There was no way he was going to get any peace, until he looked at this fascinating snowman!

Joe stared in dismay as they crossed the yard. There was the snowman, right by the corner of the corral, just as he'd originally built it. "But...but...he had arms...and legs...and he was walkin' and talkin'..."

"Joe, what is this all about?" Adam was in no mood for childish fantasies. He had to get that bid done. 

"He was real, Adam! I saw it!" Joe insisted.

"The snowman talked to you?" Adam was trying to be patient.

"Yeah, he said his name was Jack Snow, and thanks for the hat, and then it was good to stretch his legs, and..." Joe trailed off at the look of disbelief in his brother's eyes. "Forget it! Hoss didn't believe it either!"

"That's not a big surprise. Joe, you need to get your imagination under control. You can't expect people to believe an outlandish story like that!" Adam headed back for the house, turning as he got to the door. "Don't stay out too long. It's getting colder out here."

Joe stared after his brother as Adam disappeared inside the house. Splat! Something cold and wet hit him in the back, and he whirled to face the snowman, who was grinning at him.

"Did you throw that?" Joe demanded.

"Yep," Jack nodded and winked at him. "Aren't ya gonna get me back?"

Joe bent and started gathering snow, and soon the air was filled with flying snowballs and a young boy's laughter.

Suddenly a voice rang out, "Joseph, time to come in!" Joe stood, shivering, and realized he was soaked through his clothes. Boy, Pa was going to be mad! He headed toward the house, trying to figure out how he was going to explain being in a snowball fight with a snowman.

Ben caught him as he came throught the door. "Joseph, you're soaked. What did I tell you about getting wet?"

"Uh, I got in a snowball fight, Pa." Joe squirmed. He couldn't lie, but Pa probably wasn't going to believe the truth!

"A snowball fight! With whom?" Ben was not happy to see his youngest son shivering, and if one of his older sons was responsible, he was going to have a talk with them!

"Jack." Joe thought he just might stay out of trouble if he didn't volunteer any extra information.

"Jack who?" Ben was wise to his son's game.

"Jack Snow." Joe thought to himself, don't ask, Pa, please don't ask!

His silent plea didn't work. "Who's Jack Snow?" Ben was certain they didn't have anyone on the payroll by that name.

Here goes nothing, thought Joe. "He's the snowman I built."

Ben paused and stared at the boy for a moment, blinking. "A snowman? You were in a snowball fight with a snowman?" He had to admit, Joe could come up with some fanciful stories.

The whole story poured from Joe in a rush, as if he could convince his father by the sheer number of words. "Yes, sir. He was just a reg'lar ol' snowman when I built him, but then he started talkin' and said his name was Jack Snow, but he wouldn't talk for Hoss, then he grew arms and legs and started walkin' but he turned back into a regular snowman when Adam came out, then he started throwin' snowballs, and..."

"All right, Joseph, that's enough. Go on and get out of those wet clothes and get ready for church." Ben shook his head as Joe trudged up the stairs. What an imagination the boy had! At times Ben feared that Joe would grow up to be the biggest con man in the territory. He had a talent for making people believe anything he wanted them to believe. Ben didn't want to admit how close he had come to swallowing Joe's tale. A walking, talking snowman, indeed!

The Christmas Eve service was being held at a neighbor's house that year, since the only nearby settlement didn't yet have a church. As the sleigh pulled out of the yard, Joe turned to look at his snowman. He waved, and saw Jack raise his arm and wave back. "Pa! Did you see..." Joe realized his father and both his brothers had been looking forward, not back at the yard.

"Did I see what, Joe?" Ben's attention was on driving the team.

"Uh, nothing, Pa." Joe settled down for the ride, wondering if he would ever be able to prove that the snowman had been real.

v v v

"Goodnight, son. Sleep well." Ben straightened up from tucking the child in.

"Night, Pa." Joe snuggled under the covers. Christmas Eve was the one night of the year that he didn't fight going to bed. After his father left the room, Joe knew that he was too keyed up to sleep, though. He got up quietly and stared out the window. In the moonlight, he could see Jack in the yard below. Joe blinked. It looked like Jack was talking to someone! At first Joe thought it looked like Hoss, in his red flannels. But why would Hoss be outside in his underwear? Joe rubbed at the frost on the window and looked again. That wasn't Hoss! Hoss didn't have long white hair or a long white beard! That had to be...no, it couldn't be...was it? Joe crept back to his bed, unable to believe what he'd seen. He couldn't convince Pa or his brothers that Jack was real; they were never gonna believe that he'd seen Santa Claus! With all these thoughts running riot in his brain, it was a long time before Joe fell asleep.

"C'mon, little brother! Up 'n at 'em, before breakfast gets cold." Hoss shook Joe, waking him. "Merry Christmas, Shortshanks!"

Joe came awake with a start. "Merry Christmas, Hoss!" He bounced out of bed and pulled on a robe and slippers quickly, then hustled down the stairs, anxious to see what awaited him under the tree.

"Morning, Pa. Merry Christmas!" Joe bounded to the tree, eyes wide at the packages that hadn't been there the night before.

Ben chuckled at Joe's expression. "We'll get to those after breakfast, son. Come and eat."

Joe fidgeted all through breakfast, and Ben had to remind him several times to stop playing with his food and eat it. Finally, though, the dishes were cleared away, and they started opening the presents.

When Ben thought that all the packages had been handed out, Adam pulled one more from under the tree with a strange look on his face. "This just says it's for Joe." Adam hadn't recognized the handwriting on the tag.

"For Joe? Who's it from?" Ben hadn't seen the small package earlier.

"It doesn't say, Pa." Adam shrugged and handed the package to his brother.

Joe tore open the wrapping, and when he saw what was inside, knew who it was from. The family looked on as he shook the snowglobe, the tiny white flakes swirling around a figure of a small boy building a snowman.

Ben was mystified. He knew _he _hadn't gotten Joe the snowglobe. He looked at Adam and Hoss. Neither one of them seemed to have any idea of where the mysterious gift had come from. "That's very pretty, son. Do you know who gave it to you?"

Joe looked around at his father and brothers. "I'm not sure, Pa. I think I know, but you'd never believe me!" He thought it was best to leave it at that.

Ben sighed. "All right." He stepped to the window and glanced out at Joe's snowman standing by the corral fence, then blinked and looked again. He could have sworn that snowman winked at him!

v v v

"Wow, PawPaw! Did you really see Santa? And did the snowman give you the snowglobe?"

Joe grinned at his great-grandchildren. "Sure did. And there's the same snowglobe, right over there on the shelf."

"But how did he come alive, PawPaw?"

Joe chuckled, "Well, he was made of Christmas snow, and everyone knows that Christmas snow is magic!"

v v v

Merry Christmas to all my fellow Bonanarchists! — p.h.


End file.
